Fireflies
by RadiantBeam
Summary: This was not how Minako had imagined spending her Valentine's Day. ::Minako x Setsuna:: ::One-shot::


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Setsuna, Minako, or the song "Fireflies". I only own my strange, strange inspiration.

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* * *

**Fireflies**

"_I'd like to make myself believe  
__That planet earth turns slowly  
__It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep  
_'_Cause everything is never as it seems."_

* * *

This was not how Minako had imagined spending her Valentine's Day.

Granted, she hadn't been quite sure _what _to expect considering that Setsuna was the one who had asked her to come by today, but still, she hadn't imagined this; standing in complete darkness, as Sailor Venus, a slight chill in the air and the only light being a gentle blue glow coming from the unending streams of time that soundlessly wove their wave through the space.

Minako couldn't help but stare, even in her confusion. Gently rubbing her arms to generate some warmth—though honestly, the coolness of the place didn't bother her so much, she just wanted to make sure she didn't touch anything and screw up the very fabric of time and space—she tentatively made her way to Setsuna's side, where the older woman was patiently parting and connecting the streams, small blue sparks flying off her fingertips as she worked.

One of them brushed the blonde's elbow, and she felt a jolt of warmth before the light faded.

While this was not at all the way she'd imagined spending Valentine's Day when she knew for a fact that several of her friends were out on dates, Minako couldn't deny she was fascinated by Setsuna. The blue light of the time streams bathed her face in a gentle glow, and somehow it looked fitting, seeing the small flickering streams reflected in the calm garnet depths of her eyes. Despite herself, the younger girl smiled slightly. "You seem really good at this."

"I've been doing it for as long as I can remember." Setsuna chuckled quietly, a throaty sound that warmed Minako from the inside out. "If someone blindfolded me and clogged my ears, I could still do it."

Slightly more confident now as she grew more accustomed to the space, Minako pressed closer to Setsuna, peering at the streams. "What exactly do you do, Sets-chan?"

"Too many things to count." Not minding the younger girl's close proximity at all, Setsuna shifted accordingly so Minako fit more snugly against her side, her breath warm and soft against the blonde's ear. "Mostly it's all a matter of connecting certain events, making sure certain people have certain ideas, making sure certain people meet each other at the right place, in the right time. All it takes is a flick of the hand."

"Oh, whoa." Minako was openly staring at Setsuna's hands now, and didn't even try to hide it. "That sounds _so _cool."

Setsuna laughed again, softly, before she went back to working. There was something hypnotizing about it, really; Minako slowly felt herself relax, not even jumping when the streams of time were either broken apart and connected, oddly soothed by all of it. "Fireflies," she murmured.

"Excuse me?"

Bright blue eyes blinked in surprise as the senshi of Venus realized what she'd said, though the older woman's gaze was more curious than anything. Sheepishly, Minako laughed and rubbed the back of her neck. "It's stupid, I don't know. This just reminds me of when I was a kid and I used to watch fireflies in my backyard."

Setsuna lifted a brow. "You didn't chase them?"

Minako smirked. "I got to that part eventually. But I used to spend a lot of time just watching them. There was something soothing about it, really." She shrugged. "The feeling came back now, is all."

"So the streams of time are fireflies?"

"I won't try chasing them."

The dark-skinned woman snorted quietly at that before she went back to work, and pleased with herself Minako continued to watch the glow. She was half tempted to reach out and touch, to see if the streams were as warm as the sparks they set off, but she didn't dare in the fear that if she did, she'd be ripping apart the very fabric of space and time.

Of course, Setsuna could probably fix it. But it would cause her one heck of a headache in the process.

Minako didn't know how long she stood there, watching Setsuna calmly and methodically break apart and reconnect the streams of time; despite the fact that almost nothing was happening, she had no sense of time passing all that slowly, if at all. Being snug against the guardian of time's side was a major bonus, too. In fact, she was almost tempted to fall asleep.

Then Setsuna connected two strands together.

The result was instantaneous and had Minako jerking back, eyes wide, as brilliant blue sparks shot all across the space, lighting up the darkness and flashing, shooting all over and leaving small blue streams in their wake. For a wild moment as the particles danced and shot around her the blonde thought Setsuna had made a mistake.

But she could see the older woman smiling.

The sparks swirled around the blonde like a small whirlwind, warm and bright, and Minako couldn't look away; and next thing she knew, she was laughing, catching some of them in her hands, and they never faded or flickered out as she cradled them close to her chest. They were still flying over her head, lighting up the darkness like small stars and bathing everything in blue, and with a laugh and a smile she turned. "Sets-chan—"

The small sparks she'd gathered in her hands went flying into the air again, swirling around the two of them like small, warm blue fireflies. Minako's eyes went wide with shock, and for a moment she was frozen, not sure how to respond to the gentle, soft, warm feeling of Sestuna's lips against hers; her heart was pounding a mile a minute, so hard she was afraid it would break her ribs.

Slowly, though, her eyes closed and she returned the kiss with a sigh of contentment, a hand coming up to gently cup the older woman's cheek as they were bathed in the blue light of the streams of time.

* * *

Minako was late to the meeting that day; though honestly, it wasn't so much a meeting as it was a get together between friends to watch a movie. Usagi was all smiles and giggles about her day with Mamoru, Rei heatedly denying anything romantic had happened with Yuuichiro while Makoto and Ami blushed and stayed close together, their hands gently touching as Artemis and Luna cuddled on the windowsill.

When asked what she'd done with her day, Minako just smirked and kept quiet.

Watching the movie with only half a mind, she remembered the warmth of the time stream and pondered how she'd return the favor to her girlfriend when White Day rolled around.

* * *

"_I'd like to make myself believe  
__That planet earth turns slowly  
__It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep  
__Because my dreams are bursting at the seams."_

-Owl City

**The End**

* * *

...

Yeah, I won't even try explaining this one. I wanted to write something for Valentine's Day, even if a little late, and I was listening to "Fireflies" by Owl City and this image came to me. Granted, I don't know if Setsuna is actually allowed to bring people to the streams of time, but... let's just say she can, the idea behind this fic is already strange.

Belated "Happy Birthday!" gift for DezoPenguin, also. Just because.

Quick note: for those who don't know, Japan celebrates two holidays: Valentine's Day, and White Day, which are a month apart, and each partner has a chance to do something special for the other on those days. Hence Minako's self-note about returning the favor to Sets on White Day.

Read and review, please!


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